Shock news: Ryan gets RSI in Rabbit Related Rampage

It’s lucky the Space Rabbits chose my kitchen to visit. Obviously the whole ‘having spoons’ thing was good for them, but also, visiting a songwriter is a great way to publicise your planet. Live versions of ‘Space Rabbits of Brocklevoons’ are now on YouTube and MySpace:
Live in Perth
Live at Fairbridge love the kids!
Audio from another Perth gig, with Stephen Taberner on double bass.

But there is a cost to all the fun and frivolity. It has come to my attention that Ryan has developed RSI … Repetitive Spoon Injury. Apparently he has terrifying bruises on his thighs, but since he won’t let me photograph them, you will have to be merely alarmed at the state of his pants:



Who knew spoon playing was such a dangerous business?

We are still in Perth, travelling back to Denmark in a couple of weeks to do workshops in singing (Ryan) and songwriting (me).

Perth!

Sorry not to have updated the last rather dire post, but there hasn't been much opportunity for internet in the last little while.

All's well. We made it across the incredible, beautiful Nullabor! We've been to the National Folk Festival in Canberra, and performed at Fairbridge Festival in Perth, and will now tour with the Spooky Men of the West before doing three house concerts of our own. We've decided to end the tour after that ... mid-May ... and continue with the northern part of the trip at a later time.

more soon!!!!! thanks for your messages!!
Kate and Ryan

Stand By Your Van

Ryan and I are currently marooned in Mallacoota, in Southeast Victoria. This is entirely the fault of Jessie Graham, the third (rather bolshy) member of our party.

Jessie Graham is a Ford Econovan. In her previous life she used to transport jumping castles. I suppose this should have been a warning to us that she was a machine accustomed to a certain amount of excitement and drama.

Having given us some worrying moments up north, Jessie Graham had been as good as gold all down the coast.

Perhaps we didn't pay her enough attention. Perhaps we should have given her flowers, or praised her more often. It turned out she was only biding her time until the next outburst.

We had had a great day at Wangaratta in Victoria, teaching creative writing and body percussion to school kids, and doing an interactive concert for them (including the highly exciting new Space Rabbits of Brocklevoons which involves lots of bouncing by all concerned.) Then we headed across to Mallacoota in Eastern Victoria for more of the same.

After a few ominous bangs crossing the Great Dividing Range, and a strange incident involving the total disappearance of all the recently re-filled coolant, Jessie Graham overheated and carked it at night in isolated Cann River, on the way to Mallacoota. (In an interesting side note, apparently many musicians break down there on the way to Mallacoota. It's called "The Cann River Triangle". You have been warned.)

We tried refilling the coolant (again) and test-driving her to a (closed) service station, whereupon she spat out all the coolant all over the engine cover in a scene reminiscent of The Exorcist.

I'll spare you the details of why we couldn't get towed the 70km to Mallacoota. In the end, very, very kind people from Mallacoota arranged to come and get us, and Jessie was towed away in disgrace somewhere else far away, amidst ominous talk of head gaskets. Luckily, thanks to the help we got here, we were able to make it to the school, had a fab day with the kids, and had a truly beautiful evening singing for the folks in the Mud Brick Pavillion.

There are many worse things in the world than being marooned in Mallacoota. Our hosts took us on a boat ride to isolated, exquisite Goanna Bay, ran our gig for us, and patiently helped us sort out our ridiculous problems. We're staying amidst beautiful bushland, full of birds and little creatures, and have lots of time to spend watching pelicans catch and gobble down fish, and other such fascinating things.

Jessie will take a while to repair, and it'll probably cost a bomb. Having already had to cancel one festival appearance this weekend, we are leaving her here, and returning to Melbourne by coach in order to make it to the Apollo Bay Festival next weekend and an ABC interview in Melbourne on Tuesday night. We'll have to come back and get her later.

I have to honestly say I feel a bit discouraged. If Jessie does not recover, the next leg of our trip ... across the desert to Perth ... may have to be replanned. We both feel determined to continue so I guess we'll have to wait to know more once the mechanic has had a proper look this week.

Best in show

Come see Ryan, me, and the unearthly blue glow at our gig in Moruya tonight (Sunday 1st March, no matter what the heading up there says)...

As ever, for details of this gig, or the ones in Melbourne and Canberra next weekend, click on the picture at the bottom of this page or visit my myspace page (there's a link on the right).

It's our last night on the South Coast, before heading back to Melbourne for a few days. We've seen and heard some remarkable things on tour so far.


Best fact:
Appin was the first town in Australia to use solar panels ... in 1958!!!!!!


Best rumour:
The Bega high school is built over an old cemetery ... and the graves are still there ... oooh ...


Best irony:
The signs along the road to Honeymoon Bay:




I knew the course of true love never did run smooth, but no one mentioned laser hazards.

And finally, winner of the "Things I wish I hadn't noticed" category:

Coasting South

Ryan and I are staying on the South Coast in NSW, camping on a cliff that overlooks the deep blue sea.

People are very friendly here. Even the warning notices seem more like thought-provoking haiku poems ...





I spent this weekend ensconced at the Cobargo Folk Festival. It is a folk singer's dream place. The marquees are set up on a hill in the showground in Cobargo, and everyone camps at the bottom of the hill. All around are great green hills, studded with eucalypts and that tufty brown scrub stuff. And cows, and those sheep with the off-white wool and black faces.

And the people who were there were the most loving, supportive, and hugest crowd I've ever had outside of my Mountains home crowd. It was quite overwhelming ... I looked out during my first gig and saw a couple of hundred people absolutely beaming at me. Just lovely.

Apart from this very warm reception, my other favourite music moments were Mal Webb's thrilling gigs (I did actually nearly fall off my chair laughing) and The Fagans' harmony workshop ... singing in harmony in a room full of people is a really beautiful experience. I didn't get heaps of time to listen to lots of other gigs ... though I did love the Ellis Collective and Glover & Sorrenson ... because I was pretty busy with my own 3 ... and also did a kids' performance and a creative writing workshop during the weekend.

I don't have any photos, but the official photos will no doubt be up soon at the festival website.

Ryan has just rejoined me after a week in Melbourne with the Spooky Men's Chorale (if you need cheering up today, click here to Build Your Own Spooky Man, a game which he has recently designed. He he he!) We have a couple of concerts in Jervis Bay and Moruya this weekend before heading back to Melbourne for a bit (see picture at the bottom of this page for gig details.)

Our Sydney and Gosford gigs were small but fun, and we were greeted at the Clarendon with a very groovy home crowd. There are two things that have really hit home with me during the tour: firstly the unrelenting kindness and support of new friends, old friends and strangers (especial thanks to the Bowers at St Marys Church, the Bissets in Sydney, Claudine Walker, my folks and everyone who made it along to our gigs), and second, the possibility of some really unusual moments when you step out of your usual routine (thanks to Dianna Bisset for this pic!):






Yes, that is a wombat on the left. Spud has been cared for by Dianna since she was a little orphan tyke (Spud, that is, not Dianna), and has now been paired up with a bigger wombat so she can learn to be a wombat for real. And yes, that is a sitar ...


have a beautiful day
xx Kate

Gigs This Weekend

We're performing at 3 Sydney-ish gigs this weekend:

Friday 13th Feb 8pm
Cafe Churchspace, 37 St Johns Rd, Glebe $15/$10 conc

Saturday 14th Feb 8pm -- Valentine's Day!
St Marys Heritage Church, 3 Mann St, Gosford $10

Sunday 15th Feb 3pm matinee
The Clarendon Guesthouse, 68 Lurline St, Katoomba $18/$10 kids

hope to see some of you there! :)

Grey Days

It's been a very grey and sobering few days. All our love to you all, especially those in Victoria, we hope you and your families are all okay.

It rained here on the Central Coast last night ... buckets and buckets. This morning the air smells fresh and beautiful. I had my hair cut at a barber shop in Umina, feeling grateful for the simple things ... the rain, the warmth of the shop, the comfortable chat of the hairdresser, the phone ringing with appointments to be made for ladies named Eunice and Beryl. People are treating each other very gently ... there have been big fires up here at Peats Ridge too.

Ryan and I have been doing a lot of singing in preparation for this weekend's gigs. Ryan's also been immersed in design work: a couple of interesting music-related projects that we'll tell you about soon. I've been posting off cds and press releases to radio stations and newspapers along our route south, asking for interviews and airplay. We've also been sticking up posters and leaving leaflets on countertops everywhere.

As leaflets have been on my mind, I was drawn to the following ... I have a certain fellow feeling for whoever designed this leaflet:



Not only because it is The Only Circus With LIONS, but because of the geese. Their performing geese are so good they're listed even before the dogs and the Double Wheel of Death. And you know how clever dogs are. Believe me, if Ryan and I had geese that good, we'd be pushing them too.

much love to you all, stay safe, hope to see many of you this weekend (click on the pic at the bottom of the page for gig details),
Kate and Ryan